Krakatau Island Information

Etymology

The first mention of Krakatoa, Indonesia
in the West can be cited on the map by Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer. He
labeled the district as 'Pulo Carcata' where aside from the native
spelling, the one in Portuguese is generally accepted. The real origin
of the island's name is not totally clear which according to
historians, can be the result of a blunder typographically made in a
source from Britain that reported the volcano's eruption in August 26-
27, 1883.

There are three theories closely
connected to Krakatoa, Indonesia. First is from Sanskrit "karkataka",
"karkata" or "karka" that means "crab" or "lobster." Second is the
onomatopoeia that renders the noise mimicked by the white parrots that
once inhabited the district. Third is from Malay "kelakatu" that means
"white- winged- ant." There is also a very famous account about the
island which is the aftermath of a linguistic error. It says that when
a captain asked a native about his whereabouts, the latter answered,
"kaga- tau" where in Betawinese signifies a slang phrase for "I do not
know."

Geography

Right before the huge eruption in August 26- 27, 1883, Krakatoa,
Indonesia was comprised of main lands such as Lang and Verlatan.
Currently, Lang is called Panjang while Verlatan is dubbed as Sertung.
There was also an islet that was once covered with trees identified as
Poolsche Hoed or Polish Hat since apparently, it resembles
that from the coastline. There were also igneous cones that run
from north to south: Danan was 445 meters, Perboewatan was 122 meters
and Rakata was 823 meters.

On another note, David Keys together with his other colleagues believed
that the gigantic eruption in Krakatoa, Indonesia on 535 AD was due to
the change of global conditions. In the book he authored entitled
'Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of Modern
Civilization', he touched on what he believed to be a "radical
effect." Also, there were recent studies that revealed an explosion
that generated the main lands of Lang and Verlatan. However, the
findings have been refuted.

Amidst the many talks about the old chronicles of Krakatoa, Indonesia,
the more reason there is for you to pay a visit and discover for
yourself the contemporary modifications in the district.